Stumble beginnings

Cliftonville 1-2 Crusaders

Cliftonville were unable to recover from a woeful start in this afternoon’s feisty North Belfast Derby clash.

Trailing by two goals when Jordan Owens and Colin Coates pounced to give Crusaders full control inside the opening 10 minutes, the Reds rallied after the interval and saw their opponents reduced to 10 men when Coates picked up two bookings for fouls on Joe Gormley.

The hosts’ numerical advantage didn’t last long, though, with Levi Ives shown a straight red card for a tackle on Declan Caddell before Jay Donnelly volleyed in a late consolation.

Full report to follow…

BBC match highlights can be viewed HERE

Today’s Half Gate Draw winner was Darren McAuley with the winning ticket number 62856.